Jul. 24, 2013

'At the end of the day, you don't have to like me, but you have to respect my honesty,' says Danica Patrick. / Matt Detrich / The Star

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'At the end of the day, you don't have to like me, but you have to respect my honesty,' says Danica Patrick. / Matt Detrich / The Star

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A couple of facts to consider when appraising Danica Patrick’s mixed-bag first full season as a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver.

In recent years, three IndyCar drivers have tried to make the transition to the big taxicabs, and none of them did much of anything to separate themselves from the pack in their first full year.

• Sam Hornish was 33rd in the Cup standings after 19 races.

• Dario Franchitti was 37th after six races, at which point he was injured and ultimately returned to IndyCar.

• Juan Pablo Montoya, who spent five-plus years in Formula One between his IndyCar and NASCAR rides, was 20th after 19 races.

Patrick, heading into Sunday’s Brickyard 400, is 27th in the points standings.

Not a great number. Not an awful number. A rookie number.

I wonder, did Kyle Petty, the NASCAR commentator, rip Hornish, Franchitti and Montoya to shreds the way he did Patrick? “She’s not a race car driver and I don’t think she’s ever going to be a race car driver,’’ he said.

Well.

She finished third in the Indianapolis 500.

She finished eighth at Daytona earlier this year.

She won at Motegi, although her critics will be quick to diminish that as a fuel mileage race.

And she can’t drive? Really?

I asked her, “Where do you think Petty was coming from when he said you weren’t a true race car driver?’’

She looked back at me and said, “I’m curious what your opinion is on that.’’

I told her, basically, that she’s a polarizing figure, a lightning rod, that everything she does happens under the hot klieg lights of overwhelming scrutiny. It’s not interesting to take issue with Hornish, Franchitti or Montoya. It’s not interesting to mention that when they were rookies, Kurt Busch was 22nd through 19 races, Brad Keselowski was 26th, Greg Biffle was 20th. When you rip Patrick, it’s an ESPN.com headline, or a SpeedTV blast.

“Yeah, I think that’s partly the case,” she said. “When something opinionated is said about me, I’m not 100 percent sure if that’s how he feels or if he did it for attention. That’s his cross to bear. Honestly, I really feel like it gave people the opportunity to say why they thought he was wrong. ... I actually felt like as many positive stories came out of that as negative stories.”

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Sometimes, the attitude toward women (or, in this case, a woman) recalls a scene from “Mad Men.” Be a good girl and get me a cup of coffee, honey.

Petty, who is the Johnny Miller of his sport, is certainly due his opinion, and all sports need commentators who are willing to take on sacred cows. But in this particular case, he was wrong. And chauvinistic.

There is an unmistakable double standard in sports and in most of life. When a male athlete acts out, he’s a tough guy, a take-no-garbage man’s man. When Patrick complains or confronts another driver, she’s a b-word.

“Culturally, women are ladies, right?” she said. “It’s not as normal or socially acceptable to act or do the same things as the guys. At this point, I don’t think I shock anybody when I do something out of the norm or something that could be judged. I’m just being honest.

“At the end of the day, you don’t have to like me, but you have to respect my honesty.”

She’s figured this much out: Criticism only hurts if there’s a sliver of truth in the harsh words. Otherwise, it’s white noise.

“I don’t leave things to feel guilty about,” she said. “... If I didn’t work hard, that stuff would cut close to the bone. I might secretly feel guilty about something and that’s when it would hurt. So I don’t leave room for that.”

I asked Patrick how she thought she was doing roughly halfway through the season.

“I asked that very question of Tony (Stewart) recently,” she said. “I wanted to know what he thinks. He’s the boss at the end of the day and he does the same thing as I do. So I wanted to know what he thought, where I could work on things, what he expects.

“He told me, ‘I think you’re doing a good job. If I thought there was a problem or something I noticed you need to work on, I would come over and ask if I could help. But you’re doing a great job and as a team, we have to keep making these cars better for all of us, so I’ll let you know.’ So that’s the best judge. If the boss thinks I’m doing OK, that’s the most important answer.”

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She’s also doing this, sitting for hours in an interview room at Indianapolis Motor Speedway doing the local-media car wash, going from one outlet to the next to the next. She doesn’t have to do any of this, but it’s good for her sponsors, good for her brand, and even though she’d just as soon be on a beach somewhere — who wouldn’t? — she doesn’t really mind the repetitive questions and answers.

For all the resentment that exists in the garage and elsewhere, the fact is, NASCAR is more interesting with Patrick, just as IndyCar is less interesting without her.

And yes, Kyle Petty, the lady can drive the wheels off a race car. But she’s a rookie. And it’s going to take some time.